Sands China, Amap and Macau Pass Sign Strategic Cooperation Memorandum to inject new vitality into Macao’s development as a City of Gastronomy
MACAO, CN / ACCESS Newswire / March 27, 2026 / Amap and Macau Pass held the “Macao City Life Launch Event” at The Londoner® Macao on March 27. The event was co-organized by Sands China Ltd. and supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office. Meanwhile, Amap, Macau Pass, and Sands China held a signing ceremony for a tripartite strategic cooperation memorandum.
At the event, Amap unveiled the world’s first citywide “Flying Street View” and, together with Macau Pass, launched the “Macao Authentic Delicacies” Ranking and the “Macao City Life Support Program”. These initiatives aim to leverage AI and digital technologies to deepen the integration of culture and tourism across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, setting a new benchmark for high-quality development in the regional service sector.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, said Macao is stepping up efforts to integrate tourism and gastronomy, making the debut of Amap Street Stars in the city-its first stop in the Greater Bay Area-particularly meaningful.
“The newly launched ‘Macao Authentic Delicacies’ Ranking will help visitors discover distinctive local businesses with greater precision and further unlock tourism spending,” she said. “Macao will continue working with all sectors to advance the high-quality development of its tourism industry.”
Photo caption: “Macao City Life Support Program”Officially Launched
Real Data Builds Trust, Helping Visitors Discover Macao Through Food
Macao recorded over 40 million visitor arrivals in 2025, reaching a new high. To help travelers better explore the city through its culinary offerings, Amap and Macau Pass introduced the “Macao Authentic Delicacies” Ranking, covering six categories: popular dim sum restaurants, specialty dessert shops, wok-hei eateries, street-side noodle shops, local milk tea and coffee spots, and neighborhood cha chaan tengs-offering a comprehensive view of Macao’s diverse food scene.
Unlike conventional rankings that rely on subjective reviews or commercial promotion, Amap Street Stars operates on a “vote with their feet” mechanism, drawing on large volumes of real navigation and in-store visit data to create a credible, data-driven evaluation system for offline services. This approach captures the essence of Macao as a “City of Gastronomy,” helping visitors discover the distinctive flavors hidden in the alleyways and rich with local spirit-so travelers can truly taste authentic Macao in every choice they make. In Macao, the rankings currently cover 985 merchants, with 96 restaurants, attractions, and hotels selected for the top-tier “Champion List.”
The rankings are also integrated with major attractions and curated “Citywalk” routes via a newly launched “Explore Macao with Amap Street Stars” page-creating a seamless, one-stop experience that connects discovery, decision-making, navigation, and in-store visits.
World’s First Citywide “Flying Street View”: Technology Enhances the Cultural Tourism Experience
Another highlight of the event was the launch of Amap’s citywide “Flying Street View” in Macao, powered by its self-developed world model. This feature allows users to explore 360-degree aerial views of the city and preview landmarks such as the Ruins of St. Paul’s and St. Dominic’s Church, while virtually navigating neighborhoods to experience local shops and street life. It is designed to simplify trip planning and significantly reduce the time and effort required to decide where to go.
The feature also provides merchants with a powerful new way to showcase their businesses, helping improve customer conversion. Pastelaria Yeng Kee, a heritage brand with a 98-year history, reported a 23% increase in average daily sales at its Rua das Estalagens location after adopting the feature.
Similarly, local brand Matcha Macau leveraged Amap’s digital location tools and in-store reservation features to address map positioning inaccuracies and customer loss caused by overlapping street names, successfully attracting more visitors from the Chinese mainland.
“Macao City Life Support Program” Aims to Help Quality Merchants Get Seen
Since the launch of Amap Street Stars in September 2025, the platform has driven over 380 million visits to restaurants, attractions, and hotels across the Greater Bay Area’s 11 cities. During the 2026 Chinese New Year holiday, Macao welcomed an average of 114,000 daily visitors from the Chinese mainland, with Zhuhai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen contributing the largest shares-highlighting the impact of the Greater Bay Area’s “one-hour living circle” on Macao’s tourism growth.
To help merchants capture this growing demand, Amap and Macau Pass jointly launched the “Macao City Life Support Program,” focusing on well-known brands, heritage shops, and quality neighborhood businesses. The program provides support through four key initiatives:
First, it builds “AI-powered digital storefronts”, using Flying Street View and AI service tools to help merchants improve efficiency and increase revenue. Second, it provides operational tools and professional offline training to enhance digital capabilities. Third, it invests millions in consumer vouchers and delivers tens of millions of traffic exposure to help merchants turn traffic advantage into order growth during peak travel seasons. Fourth, it collaborates with Amap’s “Authentic Explorer” influencers to create high-quality content and amplify brand visibility.
Amap and Macau Pass Join Forces with Sands China to Boost Macao’s Cultural-Tourism Industry with Digital Technology
At the event, Amap, Macau Pass, and Sands China signed a strategic cooperation memorandum to further bolster the digital transformation of Macao’s cultural tourism industry.
As a leading integrated resort operator in Macao, Sands China integrates its newly launched Sands Lifestyle membership platform into Amap’s digital ecosystem. The partnership will focus on brand marketing, smart navigation, and the digital upgrade of commercial districts. Sands China has long placed strong emphasis on the development of its F&B segment, with over 150 restaurants that range from fine dining to regional specialties. Looking ahead, Sands China will further integrate with Amap’s digital ecosystem to create a seamless, one-stop smart experience-from precise online outreach to immersive offline experiences.
Dr. Wilfred Wong, Executive Vice Chairman of Sands China Ltd., said: ” We are honored to be the first integrated resort operator in Macao to establish such a deep partnershipwith Amap. This partnership marks an important step toward empowering our dining offerings with digital technology and support the broader development of Macao’s culinary industry. Sands China will continue to deepen its digital practices, enabling visitors to explore the culinary delightsof Sands China and Macao through smart technology, while injecting new momentum into Macao’s development as a Creative City of Gastronomy.”
Guo Ning, CEO of Amap, said “Street Stars was created to build a trusted offline service ecosystem based on real consumer choices. By enabling users to ‘vote with their feet,’ we aim to ensure that quality businesses receive the recognition they deserve. Meanwhile, this partnership marks the deep integration of Amap’s digital capabilities with Macao’s cultural tourism industry. In the future, we plan to expand cooperation into more areas and look forward to working with our partners to transform Macao’s unique appeal into measurable and shareable trust assets, setting a new model for tourism innovation across the Greater Bay Area.”
As a key driver of Macao’s digital transformation, Macau Pass is leveraging over 20 years of experience in local consumer services together with Amap’s AI-powered mobility solutions. The collaboration makes it easier for visitors to discover specialty merchants on digital maps while streamlining payments to enhance customer conversion. Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of Macau Pass, stated that the partnership with Amap and Sands China aims to harness digital technology to support local businesses, showcase Macao’s unique charm to more visitors, and invigorate the city’s economic vitality.
Photo caption: Signing Ceremony of the Tripartite Strategic Cooperation Memorandum between Guo Ning, CEO of Amap; Dr. Wilfred Wong, Executive Vice Chairman of Sands China Ltd.; and Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of Macau Pass.
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About Sands China Ltd.
Sands China is the largest operator of integrated resorts in Macao. The Company’s integrated resorts on the Cotai Strip comprise The Venetian® Macao, The Plaza® Macao, The Parisian® Macao and The Londoner® Macao. The Company also owns and operates Sands® Macao on the Macao peninsula. The Company’s portfolio features a diversified mix of leisure and business attractions and transportation operations, including large meeting and convention facilities; a wide range of restaurants; shopping malls; world-class entertainment at The Venetian Arena, The Londoner Arena, The Venetian Theatre, The Parisian Theatre, the Londoner Theatre and the Sands Theatre; and a high-speed Cotai Water Jet ferry service between Hong Kong and Macao. The Company’s Cotai Strip portfolio has the goal of contributing to Macao’s transformation into a world centre of tourism and leisure. For more information, please visit http://www.sandschina.com.
About Amap
China’s leading provider of digital map, navigation, real-time traffic information and lifestyle services
Founded in 2002, Amap is a leading provider of digital map, navigation, real-time traffic information and lifestyle services in China. With a focus on “promoting technological innovation and advancing with the ecosystem,” Amap has evolved into an integrated one-stop travel and lifestyle service platform. The platform provides various transportation services covering driving, ride-hailing, buses, subways, cycling, walking, trains, and flights, as well as quality lifestyle services including dining, hotel & travel, and gas/charging. Amap is dedicated to building a new offline service credit system based on users voting with their feet. Amap will continue to develop public welfare initiatives such as barrier-free transportation and eco-friendly transportation, which have received positive recognition from the industry and users.
About Macau Pass Group Holdings Limited
Macau Pass Group Holdings Limited is a diversified group company engaged in various fields, including financial technology, payment services, local lifestyle services, tourism services, and cultural performances. Macau Pass Group is committed to continuous innovation and development, aiming to serve as a bridge connecting Macao with the world and promoting the common prosperity of the regional economy and culture. One of subsidiaries of Macau Pass Group, Macau Pass S.A, has issued the first contactless smart electronic payment card in Macao, the mCard, with a cumulative issuance exceeding five million cards, meeting the payment needs of all residents and tourists at nearly 30,000 payment points in Macao. Its sub-brand, MPay, registered users accounting for over 90% of the total local population and is also the local app with the highest daily active users in Macao. Macau Pass Group also operates a highly recognized and utilized membership points system in Macao, mCoin, which has partnered with various cultural, sports, and exhibition events. mPass integrates a variety of one-stop local services, providing consumers visiting Macao with a diverse range of products and services, including dining, cultural entertainment, transportation, shopping, and travel vacations, taking consumers to explore the vibrant life in Macao.
Media contacts:
Public Relations, Sands China Ltd.
Dan Li
Tel: +853 8118 2056
Email: [email protected]
Public Relations, Amap
Song Guangping
Email: [email protected]
Public Relations, Macau Pass Group Holdings Ltd.
May
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: AGTech Holdings Ltd
